A Game of Friends
by Dumbledore'sDragon
Summary: Morgana has been missing for a year, but when she turns up on Arthur's doorstep, the reception from her friends is even worse than she imagined. Arthur, on the other hand, is glad to have her back, but his feelings for her aren't going to keep hidden for ever... Arthur/Morgana, some Gwen/Lancelot & Merlin/Freya. Rated T for some coarse language and minor suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

Arthur stood on his balcony, a glass of his favourite Glenmorangie in one hand, looking out over the river. The lights of London gleamed dazzlingly bright before him, reflected in the Cimmerian depths of the Thames below him.

It had been a long day. His father had been even more detached than usual, remaining in his office for the entire working day and only barking orders down the telephone to those most essential to the running of Camelot PLC. Not that Arthur could blame him. For today was the eleventh of October, Morgana's birthday.

And then, after his late finish to an unpleasant day in the office, his girlfriend Gwen called him wanting to know if he'd go out for dinner with her. She'd sounded hurt when he refused, but Arthur really couldn't bring himself to care at that moment in time. He just wanted some peace and quiet that evening, away from prying eyes and awkward conversation.

Glancing at the luminous skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, Arthur wondered where Morgana was. For a second, he had an urge to whisper her name on to the wind, just to see if it gave him any indication of her whereabouts, or even just made him feel better. But he didn't. He was Arthur Pendragon, and he didn't indulge in childish fantasies.

Morgana had been gone for almost a year now. The day she left, Arthur had gone down to breakfast to find a letter on the table, propped up between a glass of orange juice and a bowl of crunchy nut cereal. The stark white envelope had his name on it in her thin, slanting handwriting. That was the last he had heard from her.

He had read that letter so many times that the words were engraved in his mind.

_Dear Arthur, _[It read]

_I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I have to get out of London and I knew you'd try to change my mind if I told you about it._

_Your father and I haven't seen eye to eye for a long time, and Morgause has offered me to stay with her for as long as I want. I won't tell you where, because Uther will most certainly ask you, and I don't want to put you in a position where you have to choose between us. _

_Don't blame yourself; I know what you're like._

_Love, Morgana._

_P.S. Give Merlin a promotion, God knows he deserves one. _

Arthur sighed heavily, before draining the last of his whisky and heading inside, pulling the sliding door shut behind him. It was getting cold, anyway.

He settled himself down on the settee in the lounge and flicked between channels on the television before finally deciding to get out one of the old VHS tapes of Star Wars that he kept tucked away behind the DVDs and blu-ray disks stacked precariously under the TV stand.

Personally, he preferred the space battle scenes where he could watch the fighter planes shoot lasers at each other whilst shooting around at ridiculous speeds, but Morgana had always loved the Ewoks, so he plumped for Return of the Jedi. It was her birthday, after all.

He had just reached the scene where Paploo steals one of the Empire's speeder bikes when there was a knock at the door. Frowning, he glanced at his watch. The luminous display read 11:21. Who on Earth would be knocking on his door this time of the night?

His question was soon answered, however, as he pulled open the door.

* * *

"Hello Arthur," said a familiar voice.

"Morgana?" Arthur gaped in awe as he took in the woman standing on his doorstep. She was thinner than he remembered her, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, and dressed casually in a pair of blue jeans, brown leather boots and a long-sleeved grey top with a pattern Arthur couldn't quite make out in the dim light. But what his eyes were drawn to first was the bundle of blue blankets in her arms.

"What's that?" He demanded irritably, though he already had a pretty good idea.

"_That,_" Morgana retorted scathingly, affronted by his disparaging words, "is my son."

Arthur's throat suddenly constricted with anger, and his hands curled subconsciously into fists at his sides. A _baby_? But that meant that someone had... How dare they? How _dare _anyone touch Morgana?!

_'Anyone but you,'_ a little voice in his head prodded maliciously.

Morgana looked down at the bundle nestled carefully in her arms, and her voice suddenly softened as she corrected herself, "My son, and yours."

She looked at him, then, her jade eyes meeting his sapphire ones, just for a second, before he looked away.

If Arthur was surprised before, he was dumbfounded now. He had a son? It was true; he and Morgana had spent a night together, at least a year ago now, but he'd never thought that she would...

Suddenly all the pieces clicked into place.

"That's why you left!" He accused angrily, and Morgana could see fire blazing in his eyes. God she had missed him.

"I didn't want to." She replied. "But I knew if I had stayed Uther would have tried to make me have an abortion, and I couldn't bear that."

Arthur sighed, all his anger leaving him in a second. She was right; his father would have detested the idea of Morgana having a child so young.

"Do you want to come in?" He asked, realising that this conversation was a little inappropriate for the doorstep of his apartment, but not sure if she would accept his invitation.

She nodded, however, and followed him inside.

* * *

Once Morgana was installed comfortably on the settee, Arthur went off to make tea. He didn't know why, perhaps it was something to do with being brought up by a very traditional English father, but making tea seemed like the right thing to do, even though it was almost midnight. If nothing else, going through the familiar motions would allow him to bring some form of casual normality to what had been an extraordinary evening.

Morgana allowed her eyes to wander lazily around the room. It was spacious and modern, which was a change from Morgause's small semi-detached house in the countryside. It had been so long since she was there last that she had almost forgotten what Arthur's apartment looked like.

She was sure the decoration had changed, though. He had repainted the walls, and the photographs that used to sit in frames on the fireplace were gone, as were the hundreds of magnets that used to cling to the freezer door.

Anything that could connect to her, she realised sadly. The photos had mainly been of the two of them, sometimes Uther as well, on holidays in France or Italy, or messing around with Gwen and Merlin when the four of them were at school together.

The magnets had been reminders, too, of those holidays; she had bought him one in every place they went to: Paris, New York, Venice, and all the little old towns and villages that were always Morgana's favourite.

Arthur came back in, and placed two cups of steaming tea on the coffee table, before sitting down on the other sofa at a right angle to the one Morgana was on. He followed her gaze down to their son's face. "May I hold him?" Arthur asked hesitantly.

Morgana smiled, relieved. She had been worried that Arthur would have refused to accept the child as his own, but it looked like he was willing to give fatherhood a try, if nothing else. She carefully placed the baby in Arthur's arms, and watched affectionately as her son reached up to grab his father's outstretched finger, curling his tiny hand around it tightly.

Arthur smiled at his son. He already had thick blonde curls that reminded him of pictures of himself as a child, but his eyes were Morgana's, a mix of green and blue and gold.

"Hello, baby," Arthur cooed, and Morgana felt her heart swell suddenly at the warmth in his voice.

"What did you call him?" He asked, tearing his gaze from the baby to look at Morgana.

"Edward," Morgana replied.

"You remembered?" Arthur was surprised Morgana hadn't forgotten the games they used to play when they were children.

"Of course."

"Edward Pendragon." Arthur tested the name.

"Edward _Arthur_ Pendragon." Morgana corrected.

Arthur suddenly felt very proud. Morgana had named their child after _him_.

As stunned as he was by Edward, Arthur soon found his gaze slipping back to Morgana. His mind was awash with questions, but amidst his confusion, he held a tiny spark of hope. Maybe things could go back to the way they used to be. There was no doubt that he still loved Morgana. He had realised that after she left. After it was too late. And it had broken his heart.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my new story. Although I haven't finished it yet, I have the next few chapters written, and plus I am on summer holidays :D so update times shouldn't be too bad (theoretically). Please review, I really value opinions! **


	2. Chapter 2

Morgana wouldn't stay the night; she said she had booked a hotel, but Arthur made her promise she would come back the next day. It was a Saturday, so he had the whole day off work, and planned to take her and Edward out for the day. He should probably meet up with Gwen and apologise for last night, but he quickly pushed all thoughts of her out of his mind before the guilt could make him reconsider.

For Arthur, nine o'clock seemed to come very slowly the next morning, but eventually he heard a knock at the door.

Opening it, he found Morgana outside with Edward curled up in her arms again. He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Come in," He said brightly, holding open the door.

Morgana stepped inside his apartment cautiously, still not totally comfortable with being there.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Arthur asked, determined to make her comfortable.

"No thank you Arthur."

"Do you have a pram for Edward?" He asked. "Only, I thought it might be nice to go out today, and the weather's fine."

Morgana looked at the floor. Arthur noticed her cheeks were flushed as if she was embarrassed about something.

"Morgana are you alright?" His voice was brimming with concern. "If you don't want to go out, that's fine, we can stay here and..."

Morgana smiled, and Arthur broke off. "I would love to go out, Arthur, but, you see..." She stopped, her smile falling as she wondered how to approach the next words. She took a deep breath and rattled the words out at an alarming pace. "I don't have any money and it's so unfair because I want to buy things for him but I can't and now Morgause is gone I don't even have anywhere to live..." Her voice rose higher and higher as she became more and more hysterical.

Arthur held up his hands in the universal gesture for peace. "Slow down, Morgana," He said kindly.

He led her gently to the settee and they both sat down. "Start from the beginning."

Morgana sighed dejectedly and started again. "About a week after I got out of hospital with Eddie, Morgause became ill. I didn't know what to do; she wasn't eating, and if she did then she would just throw it up. She kept saying she had a pain in her chest. And she had a terrible cough. I kept trying to persuade her to go to the doctors, but she wouldn't. But then one night she got a really bad fever and fainted, so I rang for an ambulance."

Morgana felt a lump in her throat and tears burn in her eyes as she fought to restrain them. "It seemed like ages before it got there, and they took her into hospital straight away. It turned out that she had pneumonia which had led to septicaemia." Seeing Arthur's look of confusion she explained. "Blood poisoning. It spread to her heart and she suffered a heart attack." Morgana suddenly let out a strangled sound as she tried in vain to stop herself from sobbing.

"Come here." Arthur wrapped his arms round her tightly and let her cry loudly into his jumper. He watched Edward's eyes fill with tears, too, as he didn't understand why his mother was crying.

"Shhh, Eddie," Arthur cooed as comfortingly as he could, lifting his son onto his lap with one hand whilst still keeping the other around Morgana's shaking form. He was sure he'd never get the hang of this fatherhood lark.

Arthur waited patiently until Morgana had stopped crying.

"I'm sorry." She apologised, ashamed. "I'm just being stupid and over-emotional."

"No, you're not. Well, you are _stupid_, but there's not much we can do about that."

Morgana smiled a little despite his joke being a rather poor attempt.

"And I feel so selfish that she's... not here anymore... but I'm worrying about having a home and not having enough toys or a pram for Eddie."

"Well, there's no need to worry about that anymore." Arthur assured her. "We'll go into John Lewis today and get whatever you need, and, as for not having a home, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

For a moment Arthur thought she was going to protest; Morgana had always been very independent, and she opened her mouth as if to argue with his statement, but thought better of it and settled for: "Thank you, Arthur."

"Think of it as a birthday present," He joked, smiling, and then looked down at his son, who had fallen fast asleep in his arms.

"What about Uther?" Morgana said suddenly.

"What about him?"

"Isn't he going to mind that I've suddenly decided to come and stay with you, not to mention the fact that I have a five month old son?"

"Not if we don't tell him."

Morgana raised her left eyebrow sceptically, just as she had done for as long as Arthur could remember.

"And you think that we are going to be able to slip below the radar of everyone, including the whole of Camelot PLC, not to mention the papers?" Morgana was careful to keep her voice low, so as not to wake Eddie.

"You did!" Arthur retorted, and the note of accusation and bitterness that slipped into his voice was not lost on Morgana.

"That was rural Wales, Arthur, not the middle of London!"

"Is there so much difference?"

"Oh, only a few _million_ people!"

Arthur knew when he was beaten. She had always been better at arguments than him. Secretly though, he had missed their constant bickering immensely in the last year. There had been a gaping hole in his existence which could only be filled, it seemed, by Morgana.

"Well, what do _you_ suggest we do then, Einstein?"

"I'll talk to him. Tomorrow, if he's not busy then."

Arthur thought for a moment. "He's free all morning, I know, but I think he's flying to Brussels for a sales conference in the evening, so be warned, he may not be in the best of moods."

"That's all right, he's hardly likely to be chuffed to pieces when I turn up on his doorstep anyway is he?"

"Do you want me to go with you?" Arthur asked. Morgana had begun to shake her head when Arthur insisted she let him finish. "You know how angry he'll be, and I'm not leaving you to take all the blame for this. Eddie's half my responsibility, too, you know, and I'm going to make sure that it's not just you on your own anymore."

Morgana smiled gratefully, but inside her stomach churned. Was that how he saw her, too? His responsibility? She knew she still loved him, and had dared to hope that he might still reciprocate her feelings, but she suspected he had a girlfriend; a rich, connected business heir always did. But she already felt guilty for throwing herself on him, so she stayed quiet and forced herself to be grateful.

* * *

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the long wait guys; I've had a bit of a manic week, what with results coming back for exams and preparing to go back to school. I also had difficulty writing this chapter. I deleted it all, re-wrote it, and then decided I liked the original better, but am still not quite satisfied with the end result :( Hopefully it hasn't put you off, and I'd love to hear what you thought. Thank you to my reviewers: Lourtita, Sully and Pegasus, and I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations! **

**Please continue to review! **


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Morgana awoke in a bright, airy room painted in refreshing pastel shades. For a second, she couldn't think where on earth she was. But then she realised that she was in Arthur's apartment, in the spare bedroom.

She shut her eyes again momentarily, breathing in the faint smell of _him_ that still clung to the duvet. It was enough to make her dizzy, and for a second she felt like she had when she had first noticed Arthur in a way other than as a best friend or a brother.

Mentally scolding herself for what she saw as a moment of foolish weakness, she pulled the covers off herself and swung her legs out of the bed to check on Eddie in the cot she and Arthur had bought. To her surprise, he was still sleeping peacefully; he had always been up at dawn before, wanting to be fed. She didn't want to wake him, so she crept out of the room and into the kitchen, with the idea of making some tea and taking it in to Arthur.

Just as she was putting the knitted tea-cosy over the teapot, there was a knock at the door. Morgana spun round in alarm, almost knocking over the pot in her haste.

"Arthur!" A feminine voice called softly. Morgana felt a click of recognition; she knew that voice. A key was slotted into the door. Then it opened.

"Morgana?"

Gwen stopped the second she saw her. The bright smile that had tugged at the corners of her mouth suddenly slipped.

Morgana attempted a smile. "Gwen. It's good to see you again." She was being truthful when she said those words. She had missed Gwen while she was staying at Morgause's. They had been best friends once.

Gwen looked good, though. She seemed to have grown up in the year Morgana had been gone. Her chocolate curls were longer, her face was subtly made-up, enough to enhance her hazelnut-coloured eyes and full lips, and her clothes were expensive – much more so than anything she used to wear.

"What are you doing here?" Gwen asked, and Morgana could tell she was deliberately keeping her voice light. They had been friends too long for her not to notice.

"I'm staying with... ahh." Morgana suddenly realised what this looked like. She was in Arthur's apartment, alone, in her nightie.

"Gwen, it's not what it looks like, honestly..." She started, but Eddie chose that precise moment to start crying, and Morgana instinctively rushed into the bedroom to comfort him.

"Gwen?" Arthur mumbled her name almost incoherently as he stumbled out of his bedroom dressed in only a pair of tracksuit bottoms.

"Arthur. Nice of you to mention you had guests." The bitter sarcasm mixed with accusation in her tone was easily recognisable, but Arthur was shocked; this wasn't like Gwen at all!

"Gwen, honestly, Morgana is only..."

He broke off as Morgana entered with Eddie.

Gwen narrowed her eyes. "Oh, this just gets better and better." Only Morgana noticed the tiny crack in her voice that she was trying so hard to disguise. The pair had known each other too long to hide things like that. "Yet another thing you conveniently _forgot_ to mention. Mummy, Daddy and baby. A whole family of _liars_." A hint of hysteria edged into Gwen's voice as tears filled her eyes.

"Gwen..." Arthur began, but his girlfriend cut him off.

"Face it, Arthur. It's over. You don't love me; you never did."

"Now that's not true." Arthur looked genuinely hurt. Morgana knew that he really did care for Gwen, even though he was sometimes not as devoted to her as she wanted him to be.

"You really believe that? Well I don't. I think you'd better have these back." She threw the keys on the kitchen counter. "Goodbye Arthur. Morgana." Gwen nodded curtly to her 'friend' as she stormed from the room, stopping just shy of slamming the door.

"Well if she'd have just let me get a word in edgeways..." Arthur attempted to joke just after the door shut, running a hand through his hair sheepishly.

Morgana glared at him.

"What?!" He protested.

"You mean to tell me that you didn't mention to Gwen that I was staying here?" Her voice was just edging to incredulous.

Arthur shut his eyes and braced himself for one of Morgana's rages, which were normally loud, inventive and humiliating in their bluntness. Morgana is a temper was something formidable. He didn't think he'd ever meet anyone as sharp-tongued as her, even if he lived for a thousand years.

But surprisingly, the onslaught of words never came. Arthur opened one eye tentatively, half expecting her to be regarding him scornfully. But instead she was looking at him with something akin to sympathy and understanding in her eyes.

"You have to apologise." She said gently, attempting to get him to see this from Gwen's point of view.

Arthur frowned, both from not wanting to discuss this with Morgana, and from the fact that she _never_ backed down from an argument. Debate in any form was one of her fortes, and she was definitely not above bickering or picking a fight with anyone about anything.

He narrowed his eyes, smirking gleefully as he saw a way out of talking about it.

"Motherhood has made you mellow," He gibed.

"It has _not_," Morgana retorted acidly, narrowing her own eyes. She had always prided herself on her determined, fiery nature, and insisted that she was more than a match for any man, physically and mentally.

"Has too," Arthur crowed knowingly, delighting in the fact that he had found her sore spot. Years of squabbling over every tiny matter had left him well practised in sussing out Morgana's weaknesses. "A year ago you wouldn't have hesitated to throw one of your little tantrums if I did something you didn't like."

"Tantrums! You're one to talk. I remember the time..."

She stopped abruptly as Arthur came close to her. Intimately close. And then he was so close that she could count the tendrils of gold that weaved through those azure eyes of his. So close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek as he bent his head down.

The next thing Morgana knew, Arthur's lips were on hers.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dunnnn... ;) I apologise for the horrendously long wait for this chapter. I've been on my Duke of Edinburgh's award expedition which involves being in the middle of nowhere for a week eating packet food cooked on a trangia and living in a tiny tent which you have to carry in a huge backpack while you walk for four days. Needless to say, there was no wifi, or even a computer -.-  
But I'm back, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, or if you didn't, please review and tell me why :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: It's been ages since I last posted and I am **so** sorry for the wait for this chapter! I have no excuse, only that school etc. got in the way of writing, as it always does. However, I hope you enjoy this; I think it's a little longer than normal, and there is a confrontation I've been planning for a while at the end ;)

* * *

He didn't know what had come over him. One second he was standing there, bickering with her as they always had, and the next he was watching her too-green eyes widen a little fearfully as she stared up at him. And then he had captured her lips in his.

It was not like he had imagined at all. Their previous kisses had been passionate and even a little frantic, stolen moments at parties when she had been more than a little drunk and he sober enough to watch out for her as she drank to forget everything, but definitely not this tender, affectionate type that somehow felt so _right_.

He broke off a few moments later, not wanting to overstep the mark if she was unwilling, and stepped back to drink in the sight of her. Her eyes remained closed for a second, as if she was relishing the feeling, and her cheeks were flushed pink, but with pleasure or embarrassment he could not tell.

Even when she opened her eyes she didn't look at him, instead she hurried into the kitchen and busied herself pouring a cup of tea.

Morgana seemed to avoid him for the rest of the morning, preferring to play with Edward and his Duplo in her room. Arthur stole as many glances through the slightly-open door as he could, and could see her sitting on the carpet, her legs folded beneath her, clapping delightedly as Eddie grabbed a brick and held it out to her so she could stack it on top of another.

But when the half past ten arrived, she came out of her room dressed in what Arthur assumed was clothing attempting to soften the blow to his father when she turned up at his office. She had made an effort, with a pretty navy blue dress and a cream woollen cardigan, and had made sure that Eddie looked presentable, too, in his cute red shirt and matching jumper.

With Arthur's offer to drive her there, she arrived at Camelot PLC headquarters in plenty of time.

The heart of the Pendragon business empire was a colossal building in the centre of London, and took Morgana's breath away every time she saw it, even as a full-time employee. Glass panes stretched to an almost incomprehensible height, tapering to a fine point from which it was possible to gain a stunning view of the city.

Walking up the steps to the fancy glass double doors bearing the company name and castle logo in glorious gold, Morgana wondered more than once whether this meeting was a good idea. But she was here now, so she reasoned she might as well get it over with.

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and pushed open the doors.

Heads turned the second she entered the foyer. She knew they would. Camelot was a notorious rumour-mill; it was impossible to believe that no-one would know what had become of the boss's former ward. An eerie silence fell over what seemed the entire building. That is, until Arthur appeared from behind her, carrying Edward.

"Come on," He said gently, taking Morgana's hand in his. She realised she had been standing completely still.

Together they waited in silence as the glass lift rose grandly towards Uther's penthouse offices, and when it finally stopped, Arthur led the way, seeming to sense Morgana's unease.

"I'll wait right here," He said determinedly, flopping down in one of the plush white leather chairs in Uther's waiting room. "Unless of course you want me to..."

"I'll be fine, but thank you, Arthur." Morgana smiled, what she hoped was convincingly, before taking a deep breath and striding purposefully into the office.

She didn't knock. Courtesy may state that one knocked before entering the private rooms of another, but Morgana had never been one to be meek and obedient if she felt strongly about something, so she walked right in.

Stepping in to Uther's office was like stepping back in time several hundred years. The Victorian furniture looked altogether out of place with the rest of the building.

Her guardian was sat behind a large mahogany desk, signing papers with an elaborate fountain pen. He looked up as she entered, his face freezing in recognition.

"Morgana." He breathed, disbelief clearly written over his entire countenance. Recovering quickly from his shock, his face hardened and Morgana could see the anger building behind his eyes.

"Where have you been?" His demanding tone was seeping with barely concealed fury. "Months and months, and not a word! We're your family, Morgana, or have you forgotten that? I've never known you to be so _selfish_!"

"You think _I'm_ selfish?" Morgana replied furiously, feeling her own temper rise inside her. "This is my life, and you have _no_ right to control it!"

Uther saw red. "I am _your guardian_!" He yelled. "I saved you from the mortal embarrassment of your mother's sins and your father's ignorance. You owe me everything! I have every right to do what I think is best for you."

"Don't you dare! My father was a good man, ten times what you'll ever be, Uther Pendragon!" Morgana was lost now, in a haze of crimson.

"I will not allow this!" Uther yelled. Suddenly she felt her back slam against something hard as fingers wrapped tightly around her neck. She tried to scream, but her constricted throat left her barely able to breathe, let alone make noise.

"Let her go." Arthur bit through clenched teeth, the syllables clearly intoned as if full stops existed between the words.

His father turned, and released his hold on Morgana, who crumpled to the floor and buried her head in her hands, barely restraining tears.

"Arthur." Uther's voice sounded surprised, even a little hurt, that his son would take Morgana's side over his own.

Arthur stood strong against his father, holding little Eddie tightly, as if afraid that if he let go he might do something to Uther that he would regret. Morgana could see him shaking, but she couldn't tell if it was with fear or anger.

"Don't you _ever_," he paused to let the word sink in, "place your hands on her again."

Uther seemed to ignore his comment, and focussed his gaze directly on the little boy, who was whimpering slightly because daddy was holding him just a little too tightly. Arthur quickly relaxed his hold on his son, and let him snuggle closed to his chest.

"What is that?" Uther tried to retain his calm exterior, but Arthur could hear the strains in his voice.

He lifted his head proud as he informed his father, "my son."

"And mine." Morgana commented. She lifted herself off the floor, brushed down her dress and moved to stand next to the family she had inadvertently made for herself. She felt Arthur's hand slip into hers as he moved Eddie to rest on his hip.

"The way I see it, Uther, you have two choices." Arthur's reassurance had recovered Morgana's confidence, and she spoke calmly but firmly. "Either you accept me and your grandson as part of your family, and everything is as near to before as it can be. Or you chose to send us away, in which case I will not see you again."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, please review!**

**K x**


End file.
